Nonsensical?

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for extraordinary destiny.” C.S. Lewis

I believe that our destiny is extraordinary.“God asked Abraham to do what seemed utterly unreasonable: to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Gen. 22:2). There is a predictable pattern throughout the history of God’s dealing with His own:
He often asks us to do what makes no sense at the time.” (R. T. Kendall, Holy Fire)It certainly didn’t make any sense to most people when we told them we sensed the Lord inviting us to risk… sell it all and move to Costa Rica.
Well… here we are. The novelty of living in a foreign country literally “melted off” awhile ago.

So, what are we doing?!? What are our plans?

Countless new things are stirring. I believe that there are no little things in the Kingdom.
“Little things” are things like yeast or a mustard seed.
He loves to use the faithful small and ordinary to birth the unexpected extraordinary.

One precious “little thing” I got to do on Saturday was share the story of Zacchaeus with my dear friend, Fabricio. I asked him if he had ever heard of the story of Zacchaeus. He said he had never heard of such a person.What a sweet gift to share a story of God’s relentless pursuit of the “seemingly” unworthy and the radical transformations that happen when Love pays us a visit.There are so many precious moments happening here.

Quick life updates…
*Kelly has been teaching English to two different young ladies. These friendships have become so valuable.

*It also appears that the Lord is opening doors for Kelly and I to serve in a couple different schools.
What a gift to get to form relationships with these children, their parents and the school staff!!!
Obtaining this kind of privilege is quite difficult.

*A pastor who oversees many, many rural churches has asked me to join her in offering some training and teaching.

*I have been blessed to connect with some new pastors as well. One of them is in an area of greater poverty than I had yet seen or experienced in Costa Rica. I know we will be providing some kind of serving / aiding in this community.

*And as always, we remain quite busy ministering to families back in the United States.

Now… for what seems to occupy our thoughts so much of the time lately…

As you know, we desperately want to break the cycles here…
unfair wages, unfair treatment of workers, lack of education, the idea that Christianity is = exhausting / overwhelming rules and guilt, to restore the lost gifts of dreaming and hoping… this comes from seeing, believing and experiencing His goodness.We believe that creating a missional-business will provide employment, giving locals opportunity to learn business skills, while both being treated with honor and given a fair wage.
Even more than that though, it is an opportunity to experience a culture of love and honor as we use the business as a covert vehicle for evangelism and advancing the Kingdom.
It may sound strange, but the primary goal of the business is not to make a lot of money. Our heart’s desire is to be self-funded one day, and we will work towards that. However, a more important goal is to change the lives of the people here! It is to invest in people. That investment means sharing the truth of Jesus through our VERY LIVES.

Our brains have been spinning. That being said, we are sensing a nudge to open a “delights” store. The store would include small treats and gifts. I’m not sure that I have ever felt more unqualified for a task presented before me…
This is saying a lot because I’ve felt under-qualified so much in my life! Our heart is that this would truly be a radical and wacky undercover ministry. People would literally enter for one thing and leave with another.Other than our move, this would be the scariest thing we have ever done. We are REALLY seeking confirmation. We sense Him leading, but we desire the “concrete.” We are quite aware that He normally enjoys different modes.
However, it will take many miracles to execute this dream. The main hurdle is, of course, financing. We will NOT borrow money. IF The Lord is inviting us deeper into this, He will provide. That being said, we are believing resources ALREADY exist…
That would help launch this culture changing venture.

Helen Keller told the Tennessee Legislature when she was young, she longed to do great things and could not; so she decided to do small things in a great way. The rest is history.

Moment by moment, we continue to treasure each and every small thing. We are yielding for the one, and hungry that all might know the delight of being His sons and daughters.Please be in prayer for our family and our new country. If God alerts your heart on our behalf, we would be so blessed to know.